STONY BATTER
Stony Batter in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, was an early trading post operated by
James Buchanan, Sr. The stone monument, endowed by Harriet Lane Johnston,
was built in 1911 to mark the site of the birth of James Buchanan, Jr. The
monument’s inscription reads, “This monument marks the birthplace of James
Buchanan, fifteenth president of the United States, born 23 April 1791, died 1
June 1868.”
Historic
PATCHWORK
Situated on the farm known as Patchwork, this Queen Anne style house of German
wood siding was built around 1865, after James Buchanan sold the farm to Jeremiah
S. Black, his Secretaty of State. The house has ornate woodwork with natural finish
and a dining room with an oval shaped ceiling medallion about three feet long. It has
nine rooms with six fireplaces, three with Italian marble mantels.
Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
Boyhood home of
James Buchanan
Fifteenth President of the United States
Legend
I-Buchanan Monument, off Buchanan Trail West (Rt. 16) at Stony Batter
2-Lane House, 14 N. Main Street
3-Buchanan Hotel, 21 N. Main Street
4-Mansion House, 2-4 S. Main Street
5-Log Cabin, Academy Campus (rear)
6-Patchwork Farm, Findley Road
7 -Spring Grove Cemetery, Etter Road
1791
1868
Photography by Mel Stenger
More Information: Mercersburg Area Chamber of Commerce
717-328-5827 • www.mercersburg.org
MANSION HOUSE
The earliest recorded date for the stone Mansion House
shows it was transferred to Marshall College, a forerunner
of the Mercersburg Academy, in 1840 for use as a dormitory. In 1856, following his ambassadorship to England,
Buchanan gave a campaign speech ftom this balcony
that launched his successful bid for the presidency. With
its Italianate roofline the Mansion House remains a local
landmark.
BUCHANAN HOTEL
In 1796 when James was five years old, his family moved from Stony Batter to Mercersburg. The lower part of
the brick hotel was President Buchanan’s boyhood home and also housed a store operated by the Buchanans.
Sometime later with the installation of tile floors and a third story with a cornice of Italian design, the home
became the Buchanan Hotel.
www.explorefranklincountypa.com
Listed on the National
Register of Historic Places
Harriet Lane, niece of James Buchanan, accompanied her Uncle James to the Court of
St. James and later served as hostess at the
White House during the Buchanan presidency. Harriet hecame the belle of Washington, D.C. She married Henry E. Johnston, a
banker, and moved to Baltimore, Maryland.
Arnong hcr many endowrnents are the monuments at Stony Batter and Meridian Park in
Washington, D.C. Harriet’s girlhood home,
built in the Federal style in 1828, is on North
Main Street.
LOG CABIN
JAMES BUCHANAN
A Brief Summary
Originally located at Stony Batter, an early trading post about two and onehalf miles west of Mercersburg, the log cabin of Buchanan’s birth was erected
sometime prior to 1791. Later it was moved to Chambersburg where it served
a variety of uses. In 1953 it was returned to Mercersburg and placed on the
campus of tbe Mercersburg Academy.
James Buchanan was born in Foltz, now Cove Gap, near the
town of Mercersburg on April 23, 1791. The second of eleven
children, Buchanan spent his boyhood days in Mercersburg attending school and helping with the family business, James was
admitted to Dickinson College at age 16, and was graduated with
honors.
During his college days, James developed a love for and devotion
to the law. Upon graduation from Dickinson, Buchanan took a
job as a clerk in the law offices of James Hopkins in Lancaster. Here Buchanan prepared himself for the Pennsylvania Bar
Exam, which he passed in 1812. Once admitted to the Pennsylvania bar, Buchanan established his own law practice in Lancaster.
After a brief stint in the army during the War of 1812,
Buchanan was elected to serve in the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives. This election marked the beginning of a long
and distinguished career in the public service.
During his career he served in the Pennsylvania legislature, the United States House of Representatives, the United
States Senate, and held appointed positions as Ambassador to
Russia, Secretary of State, and Ambassador to Great Britain. Buchanan distinguished himself in all of these positions.
All ten fireplaces have hand-carved mantels,
each of a different design.
The springhouse has a Pennsylvania type pump,
with a neck carved in the cenrer of the log. The
trough, once used for cooling dairy products, is
still in the springhouse.
The house has all original indoor shutters, elaborately carved woodwork, and a center hall with
an unusual curved ceiling.
After three unsuccessful attempts, James Buchanan finally
garnered the Democratic nomination for President in 1856.
Buchanan easily defeated Republican James Fremont and
became the fifteenth President of the United States, the
only Pennsylvanian ever elected to that position. Buchanan’s
objective as president was to preserve the union. He believed
strongly that no issue, including slavery, was so significant that
it should endanger the union. Buchanan failed in his attempt to
avoid war and, as a consequence, has not been treated kindly by
history.
Upon leaving office in 1861, Buchanan retired to his beloved
Wheatland, outside of Lancaster, where he died in 1868. Few
Americans have served their nation longer and with more dedication than Pennsylvania’s favorite son, James Buchanan.
SPRING GROVE
President Buchanan’s father, James, Sr., and his mother, Elizabeth Speer Buchanan, are buried in Spring Grove cemetery. Other family members in Spring
Grove are the former President’s brothers, William, George, and John, and
sisters Mary, Maria, Sarah, Harriet, Elizabeth, and Jane. Two small markers indicate tbe burial sites of children. James Sr.’s crypt, in the center of the photo,
has an inscription which reads in part “A tender husband, intelligent faher and
faithful friend ... with society he sustained the character of an honest man and
useful citizen.” He died an accidental death in 1821.